To Save Them All
by Wingstar23
Summary: A girl falls into the universe of the four gods and now she has to keep suzaku's warriors and thier miko safe.what a job! can she do it without letting her past interfere? had to up the rating cause of ch 10. *ch 13 is up*
1. Kyari

A/N: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi. There I said it. So don't sue me please. This was just a prologue plus chapter one to see if ppl would actually bother to read this story. Apparently people will read this story, so I decided to rewrite chapter one because it wasn't very good… here it is. 

                                    **To Save Them All**

**Prologue **

She walked through the library in her hometown of Montreal, Quebec, looking for a decent book on ancient China for her history project. Suddenly her searching eyes came across an old looking book with what looked like fading Chinese written on its cover. 

"S-Shi Jin Ten Ch-Chi Sh-Shu? Sho..." she murmured, reading the peeling gold lettering on the front of the book. 

Gently she tucked the book under her arm and brought it to a table. Sitting down in one of the hard plastic library chairs, she opened the book and put her finger under the first character. As soon as she touched the pages of the book, a strange red light burst from it pages, temporarily blinding her. Shielding her eyes from the brightness, the girl gasped and stared as the strange red light the book was emitting glowed half-blue, half- light turquoise. She gasped as she felt herself propelled forward through what felt like a ten-foot chasm. But it wasn't a chasm; it was the portal to a new land with new adventures waiting for her. Only problem was that poor Kyari didn't know that…

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Kyari felt herself freefall through the "hole" and she splashed down abruptly in a river.

"Ah shit!" she cursed as she pulled herself out of the water.

 She tugged her light hazel hair out of its usual ponytail and wrung it out. She pulled it back and let it fall softly down her back

"And I _had_ to be wearing my light blue top." she muttered, wringing that out too. "Alright. Now where the hell am I?" she asked no one at all.

"In Konan, no da." a somewhat-high-pitched voice said from her left.

"What the?!" she yelped, jumping back a step. "Oh. It's just a guy." Kyari said flatly.

"No, I'm Chichiri." the voice said, stepping out from behind a tree. 

The "guy" had light azure colored hair with bangs about two inches long that stuck straight up. He had a gentle looking face and warm eyes. His smile seemed to be perpetual and in one hand he held a pole with some kind of ornament on it. Over his arms, a cloak was draped and a fishing hat hung down his back. 

_He looks like one of those priests from ancient China  _Kyari thought to herself.

"Okayy… Chichiri it is then. I'm Kyari." the girl introduced herself.

"Are you new around here, no da?" Chichiri asked curiously. "I don't think I've seen you before, no da."

"You could say that…" Kyari answered "One question before you go on. What the hell is no da and why do you always say it?"

"Oh, I don't know, no da, I just do. It's kind of like saying…" he paused to think a second "Understand or something. I should introduce you to Tasuki. You're almost just like him."

"If you know where in the name of all fucking hell I am and how I can get home, I'll meet anyone. Even a king or something." the girl told him throwing her hands up in exasperation. 

"Home? Where do you live? In Kuto, no da?"

"Actually I'm from Canada. That's far away from wherever the hell I am now." she said. 

"Canada, no da?"

"Yeah. It's right above the U.S.A." Kyari said, giving Chichiri a funny look. "Don't you know your geography yet?"

"Very well, no da. I've never heard of 'Canada' before, though." he said amiably. "Did you happen to fall through a book, no da?"

Kyari nodded. 

"Oh. You'd best come with me then, no da. We'll get you dried off and then you can see Hotohori, no da. He's the emperor."

"Sounds good" Kyari shrugged.

Chichiri grinned and took Kyari's hand. They were instantly transported to Konan palace.

"Holy shit! A cloak that teleports! Cool!" Kyari cried in amazement.

Chichiri chuckled. "Yup. The kasa does too, no da." he added, pointing over his shoulder at his straw fishing hat.

"So where to?" Kyari asked rocking back and forth on her heels, hands jammed into the pockets of her navy capris looking all around her at the palace.  

 " I have to check on Tasuki first, no da, but you're welcome to come along. Or else you can stay here and wait for Hotohori. Tell him Chichiri brought you, no da."

"Yeah. Um… I'll come with you." Kyari said, "What happened to this Tasuki guy anyways?" she asked as they walked.

"He fought in a great battle and was injured. Unfortunately Mitsukake couldn't heal him right away, no da, he had to help Chiriko and Miaka."

"Wow. He sounds like something else." Kyari said in awe "Was it bad?"

"Well, yes to us, no da, but not to Tasuki. He's very hard to keep down." Chichiri said matter-of-factly.

Kyari stared in amazement at the blue-haired monk.

"Well we should get going, no da." Chichiri said starting down the hall to Tasuki's room.

Kyari nodded and followed Chichiri down the hall.

A/N: There it is; redone chapter one! Hope you like it. Now off to rewrite ch 2 cause it's just as bad as ch one… later.

~Tenshi Kitsune~


	2. Meeting Tasuki

A.N: finally chapter two! Updated and up to speed with the rest of the story!. As usual I don't own Fushigi Yuugi but I do own Kyari and any spelling and grammar errors and any OOCness in the story. Thanks to Otaku Pitcher for the review and advice. (Sorry if I couldn't fix the dialogue I'm not too good at that part) anyhow on to the story…

Tasuki sat in bed cursing under his breath.

"Damnit Mits! Why can't you hurry up?" he vented pummeling his pillow with his good hand. "I've been here for two days already!" 

He has sustained a broken ankle and arm, a shattered kneecap and a cut over his right eye that ended just before the line of his fiery red hair. Not to mention a few bruised ribs, the gash at the back of his head and multiple burns on his hands. 

Someone knocked on the door.

"What the hell do you want?" he yelled at whoever it was.

"It's just Chichiri, no da."

 "Well come in then!"

Chichiri gently pushed open the door and entered, Kyari (thanking God she was so short) hiding behind him. The girl wasn't so sure it was such a brilliant idea to tag along after all. Chichiri went over to the side of the bed. "Feeling any better, no da?" he asked sympathetically. 

"What do you think, idiot?" Tasuki snapped irritably.

Chichiri's eyes softened and Tasuki felt a little guilty for having yelled at him.

"Thanks for comin' by Chi-san." he said by means of apology.

Chichiri smiled. "Anytime, no da. It's what friends do." He hit his forehead "Oh yeah! Have you met Kyari yet, no da?"

"Who?" 

"Kyari, no da." Chichiri repeated, stepping to the side so the girl wasn't behind him anymore "She came from another world, no da. I think the same one as Miaka."

Kyari went scarlet and waved a little.

Tasuki nodded to her. "I'm Tasuki. How'd you manage to get here?"

"Well, I fell through a book and then Chichiri found me and I've been following him around ever since." the girl answered shifting uneasily from foot to foot. Her wet trainers squished under her feet and Kyari stopped moving. She was a little intimidated by this foul-tempered young man and she really didn't want to attract too much attention to herself.

Chichiri looked at the girl. "Was the book glowing red, no da?" the monk asked curiously.

 "Yeah, at least at first. Then it turned kinda aqua-marineish." Kyari told him.

"Strange…" Tasuki murmured, shaking his head.

"Me?" Kyari asked, slightly miffed.

"Yeah that too." Tasuki answered looking her over.

Besides her navy capris and light blue top, Kyari had on a dark blue vest and a midnight bandana was just visible under her light brown hair. The girl stood about two feet shorter than Chichiri and blue-green eyes shone above a small scar that went from the bridge of her nose to just below her right eye. 

"But I meant that all the seven seishi were found and we already have a Miko…so who the hell are you supposed to be?"

" How the bloody hell do I know! I just got here!" Kyari snapped back folding her arms across her chest.

Tasuki laughed and shot the girl an amused look. "You're alright, Kyari, for a girl I mean."

 Kyari blinked in confusion, then laughed a little. "You're okay too, for a guy with that kind of attitude I mean." she said looking the flame-haired young man straight in the eyes. 

For a few seconds they stayed like that, staring into one another's eyes.

"Awww….So cute, no da." Chichiri teased.

"Ah, shut up!" Tasuki and Kyari said simultaneously.

The monk laughed. Suddenly there came a knock at the door.

"Yeah?" Tasuki said to whoever it was "What do _you_ want?"

"It's Mitsukake." came a deep voice from behind the door.

"Well finally!" Tasuki muttered "Come in then!" he yelled to Mitsukake.

The healer pushed open the door and entered followed by a little white cat. Mitsukake was tall and had short, spiky black hair with crossed yellow and red bandanas around his forehead. He wore a yellow kimono-like coat over a navy sleeveless shirt, tied at the waist with a black material belt and black pants that reached to about an inch above his ankles. On his feet were what looked to Kyari like Tai-Chi slippers.

Kyari's eyes widened as Mits walked over to Tasuki and looked him over clinically.

"I can heal you." He said simply.

The doctor placed his hands on Tasuki's chest and closed his eyes. A faint red light glowed from under his left palm and a green light engulfed the injured young man. The cut on his forehead disappeared and after a minute the light receded and Tasuki swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"Thanks Mits. I owe you one." He said standing up and testing out his knee and ankle.

"Wicked." Kyari breathed , her eyes sparkling in wonder.

The kitten wandered over to the girl and she bent to pet its silky fur.

Chichiri smiled. "Looks like we have another animal lover on our hands, no da."

Kyari smiled face slightly red. "Yeah I guess you do… Who's the other one?"

"That'd be Mits." Tasuki said jerking his thumb in the general direction of the healer.

Mits smiled slightly and said "Yes. I'm quite fond of all animals but Tama-Neko here is my favorite."  he said as the kitten scampered over to him.

 He turned to Kyari "I'm sorry but I don't know your name." 

"Oh. Sorry,  I'm Kyari." The girl said straightening up and inclining her head slightly.

A few silent seconds passed by and Kyari shivered. The water from the river had been cold and she was still soaked.

"We should get you dried off, no da." Chichiri said putting a hand on Kyari's shoulder and leading her out. They both turned and Chichiri grinned and said "See you later, na no da." while Kyari waved a little.

**** So whatcha think? Better? Worse? Tell me!!!!  I tried to fix it up a little but I couldn't think of much to add… maybe I'll try again some other time. Anyways see you next chapter!

~Tenshi Kitsune~  *************   


	3. Peacekeeper

A/N: And here's chapter 3! Sorry about the wait wasn't in the same country as my chapter and had no computer. Anyways…

Suzako no Miko Copy cabbit: How Kyari got her scar is a secret for now. She'll tell later. And of course the traditional disclaimer… 

 Fushigi Yuugi isn't mine (though I wish it was) so don't sue me for being creative. ^_^ So on to the fic…

Chichiri led the girl down the hall and around a corner to a room with dark cherry-wood floorboards and antique looking furniture decorating the interior. A window, that took up a good part of the right wall, let sunlight stream in and play gently across the light blue bedspread that covered a soft-looking four-poster.

" Wow!" Kyari breathed in total amazement "A-Are you sure I can stay in here?" she asked a little shakily "I mean this sort of room must be meant for royalty not people like me…"  

The girl felt a little intimidated by the room and felt more out of place than ever.

Chichiri laughed a little bit at her reaction. "Of course you can use this room, no da. It's a guest room for a reason." he told her "Unless you'd rather stay soaking wet and cold, no da."

Kyari couldn't help but smile at the monk. Somehow just hearing his voice made her feel better about her situation. "I think I'll opt for dry clothes." She told him stepping into the room.

The other returned her smile and turned to head back down the hall. "Oh yes, and I'll be back soon to take you to see Hotohori-sama. Alright, no da?" 

Kyari nodded. "Arigato, Chichiri." she said as the young man headed back down the hallway.

"Doitashimashite, na no da." he called back over his shoulder.

_ I said and understood that how? _Kyari wondered as she opened up a closet_. Must have been the book_ she decided, pulling out a waist length dark-purple kimono and navy pants like Mitt's.

She laid the clothes on the bed and stood back to see if they matched properly. The girl stood there for five minutes regarding the pair then decided she couldn't figure out if they matched or not. 

"If anybody asks, I'm colorblind." she laughed to herself.

She pulled on a pair of the tai chi like slippers and tugged her elastic out of her hair, letting it fall lightly over her shoulders. The girl let herself fall backwards onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. 

A soft tap on the door jolted her out of her thoughts.

"Kyari?"   

It was Chichiri.

"Yeah?" she said pulling the door open "Time to go already?"

Chichiri nodded and told the girl to follow him. 

They walked down the hallways in relative silence, as neither was really that talkative, and stopped in front of a pair of sliding Chinese doors. Chichiri waved his hand and the door slid gently to the side. Kyari stared and the blue haired monk smiled at her and motioned for the girl to go in before him. She nodded and stepped into the emperor's throne room. For about the millionth time that day Kyari's eyes widened and she nervously followed Chichiri up to where the emperor was seated.

 The room was decorated with pillars and gold carvings of a phoenix. A red carpet covered the floor and in the middle at the very back of the room, sat the emperor himself. He was sitting on a dais made almost entirely of gold. He was so beautiful it was strange. His light brown eyes sparkled under grayish-brown bangs and his flowing kimono seemed so regal it was all the girl could do not to turn and run.

She gasped and bowed low with her arms in the sleeves of her kimono.

"You may rise, Kyari." Hotohori said in his deep and gentle voice.

Kyari straightened and looked up into the emperor's soft eyes.

"Now tell me, how do you come to be in Konan and where do you really come from?" 

"How'd you know I don't come from here?" the girl asked in surprise.

 The emperor smiled at her. "Chichiri has informed me of everything that has happened since he met you."

"Oh…"

So Kyari told him everything. From the aqua light to how she'd run into Chichiri.

"…. So y'see, sir, I'm not sure exactly how I come to be here. I think the book brought me here." she finished with a small shrug.

"I see." Hotohori said gravely "The scrolls of Suzaku don't seem to mention you so it might be that you were brought here by accident." He paused, apparently deep in thought, and Kyari cut in.

"All I want to do is go back home. I'm tired and confused and, aw hell, totally scared. Please just send me home." Tears threatened to fall and Kyari felt her left cheek burn.

_Damn it all, not now! _ she thought, desperately putting a hand up to her cheek.

It was too little too late however and the purple light shone through her fingers.

Chichiri jumped in surprise.

"Sorry…" Kyari mumbled, tuning her face a little "It does that sometimes."

"Please, it's alright." The emperor told her, going over to the girl. He gently took her hand away from her cheek to reveal a light purple symbol.

"The peace symbol, no da!" Chichiri exclaimed, eyes widening in surprise.

"I-Is that bad?" Kyari asked.

"Not at all." said Hotohori "I seem to remember an older legend that my advisors told me as a boy. It said that would one day, Suzaku would send a child to help keep the peace in Konan. Her role would be to save the Miko from error so that they could finally summon Suzaku."

"What exactly does that mean?" the girl asked shakily.

"It means that you were sent here by Suzaku to become the peacekeeper, Kyari." the emperor explained "And if you accept the responsibility of becoming the guardian of both Suzaku no Miko and her seven Seishi, you are also helping to bring peace to all of Konan."

"How could I be helping a whole country if I'm only supposed to look after Suzaku no Miko and her s-sei-seich… those other guys?"

"By protecting Miaka and us seishi, you can make sure that we summon Suzaku, no da." Chichiri piped up "If we summon Suzaku then Miaka gets three wishes. She'll use one of her wishes to bring peace to Konan and then the others for whatever she wants, no da."

"And if you lose a seishi what happens?"

"Then Suzaku can never be summoned." Hotohori said gravely "Just as if we lose the priestess, Suzaku will not appear."

"Okay. So if I become peacekeeper, I can't let even one seishi die or else we're toast and I especially have to watch out for Suzaku no Miko 'cause she's the one who actually has to summon this Suzaku person. Got it. One last question: Who's Suzaku?"

"He's our guardian, no da." Chichiri told her " There're four; Genbu to the north, Suzaku to the south, Seriyuu to the east and Byakko to the west."

Kyari nodded. "Alright. I'll become the peacekeeper." she said turning to Hotohori.

"Thank you Kyari. All of Konan is counting on you." the emperor told her gratefully.

"I'll do my best, sir." The girl said with a bow.

"Chichiri, show Kyari back to her room please." Hotohori said turning towards his planning room.

"Hai" the monk bowed and led Kyari back to her room.

***** As usual I'm sorry it took so long to put this up and I hope you liked it. Here are some words you might not have understood:  ****************

 Doitashimashite- you're welcome

Arigato-thank you

Hai-yes or right

Anyhow tell me what you guys think.

~Tenshi Kitsune~       

         


	4. Morning Savior

A/N:  Ch 4 is here! Would have had it up sooner but thanks to Videotron (my internet supplier) I couldn't. So anyways as usual the characters from Fushigi Yuugi aren't mine but Kyari is. So now that I said that don't make me pay up money I don't have. And on to the fic. 

Chichiri led Kyari back to the guest room she'd been using earlier.

" You can stay here, no da. If you want anything just ask me or someone and they'll see what they can do."  the young man told her.

"Alright. Thanks again for helping me out." The girl smiled dispiritedly and turned to go into her room.

Chichiri put a hand on her shoulder. " Are you okay, no da?" he asked, concern in his voice.

Kyari shook her head to clear it then nodded. "Yeah. I'm okay."

The other gave her a suspicious look and the girl waved at him as she shut the door firmly behind her.

"Close one." The girl breathed,  "All I'd need now is to be spilling my feelings to strangers."

She collapsed on her bed staring at the ceiling. Thoughts chased themselves around her more than confused brain and the girl tried to shake them off.

"It's alright." She whispered to herself, right hand unconsciously tracing the thin line of her scar " That's far behind you now and you'll never pull anything like it ever again."

Somehow, in a few more minutes the newly named peacekeeper fell asleep without realizing it.

                          *************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~********************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*************

The next morning Kyari woke up to find it was still half dark outside.

"Great." she muttered bitterly "Even the time zone has to change on me…"

Throwing off the covers, she figured she might as well go exploring in the palace grounds since sleep was out of the question now.

She pulled on her now dry capris, a dark purple tunic and tied her trademark bandana around her head. Pulling her hair into a ponytail, she added tai-chi slippers to the outfit and regarded herself in a mirror. Nodding her approval she headed out the door. 

Once outside the girl shut her eyes and spun in a circle.

"Wherever I'm facing I go." she told no one in particular. 

She opened her eyes and found herself facing a wall.

"Yeah okay…maybe I'll just go the other way."

So she turned and headed straight thinking at least it was nice outside and not totally pitch black. After about twenty minutes of pointless wandering, she found herself in a small grove of trees near a lake.

Smiling at the beauty she was looking at, Kyari climbed up onto a nearby boulder that overlooked the mirror-like surface of the lake and lay down on her stomach quietly watching small fish dart back and forth.

She sighed contentedly and shut her eyes, daydreaming. The girl stayed like that for awhile just happy to be away from everyone and everything.

 When she finally opened her eyes, the sun was almost fully risen and she sat up, leaning back on her hands, to watch the rest of the sunrise. 

"This isn't as bad as I figured." The girl thought now in a better mood then when she had first started out.

Then she stood up, intending to leave, but the clear, still water kept her gaze for a second longer. When she finally turned to leave, she was facing a young man with blue hair and bangs that stood straight up in the air. 

She yelled in surprise, forgetting for a minute that she knew who he was, and took a step backwards. She stepped into nothing one foot on the rock, the other off.

"Chichiri! Help!" the girl cried in panic, arms pin-wheeling wildly.

The other quickly sprang forward and pulled Kyari forwards. She tripped and her head fell onto his chest. The peacekeeper stayed there for a minute a fistful of Chichiri's kesa in each hand, close to tears. 

"Thanks. If there's one thing I'm scared of it's falling off high places." she told him in earnest, looking up into his face " You saved my life." 

The young man looked as if he might be blushing, but Kyari couldn't tell for sure because there was no color on his cheeks.

She smiled at him and let go of his kesa. "So whatcha up to?"

"Not much, no da. I just wanted to enjoy the view of the lake." he answered simply.

"Me too." replied the girl "I'll leave you alone so you can think or whatever."

She turned to leave.

Chichiri hesitated a second then put a hand on her shoulder. "You could stay if you wanted to, no da." he told her a little shyly.

Kyari nodded and the two sat there side by side just appreciating each other's company and the general calm around them.

******************** Well another part of the story unfolded. As usual tell me whatcha think. What you say really matters and getting reviews makes me want to write more. Plus thanx to those who already reviewed my fic.  ~Tenshi Kitsune~


	5. Meeting of the Suzaku Team

A/N: Well here it is folks ch.5! Sorry that I always take so long to update, I'm just really horrible at typing so I try not to do it (not that that's a good thing mind). Plus school just started so there goes half my day. Anyhow I apologize to everyone who reads this and then has to wait like a month and a half for the next chapter. So on to that stupid disclaimer I always have to put: Fushigi Yuugi=not mine Kyari=mine. And _now_ the chapter.

Kyari and Chichiri were sitting on the rock by the side of the lake in silence watching the water and generally getting lost in thought.

"Hey Chichiri?" Kyari ventured, breaking the silence.

"Yes?" the young man answered turning to face her.

" You know how you're a seishi and the girl, Miaka, is the Miko?"

The other nodded.

 "Well, is that it? I mean are you the only seishi who's actually been tracked down?"

Chichiri shook his head " I'm not the only one, no da. We found and tracked down all seven seishi. There's Tasuki (the guy with red hair you met yesterday), and then there's Mitsukake (he's the healer you saw yesterday), plus Hotohori-sama (he's the emperor of Konan), Nuriko Chiriko and Tamahome. You haven't seen the last three yet but you will soon enough, no da."

The girl nodded and turned back to the calm water. 

This definitely isn't as bad as I figured. she thought happily.

The pair stayed like that for awhile and still weren't planning on going anywhere anytime soon, when Tasuki pushed his way through the brush that surrounded the rock and told them they had to follow him.

"Why?" Kyari demanded a little annoyed.

"Because there's a meeting and Hotohori says everyone except Miaka has to be there. 'Including the peacekeeper' were his words, now c'mon or we'll be late!" the flame haired seishi said impatiently.

Chichiri got to his feet almost immediately and extended a hand to Kyari.

" I guess that's a good reason." Kyari said taking his hand and reluctantly getting to her feet.

The three set off for the conference room where the meeting was to be held.

"So what's the meeting supposed to be about, no da?" Chichiri asked after a while of walking in silence.

"Probably about how we're supposed to get to Hokkan." The flame haired seishi answered.

"Hokkan? T'hell's that?" Kyari asked quizzically.

" That's the town we're supposed to go to, no da. It's where Taitsikun told us we could find the Shin-Zaho stone." Chichiri told her.

Seeing the slightly confused look on the peacekeeper's face, Chichiri explained to her that the Shin-Zaho would be used to summon Suzaku since they had lost the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho.

"Oh. So I'm guessing the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho was the thing you were supposed to use to summon Suzaku?" Kyari said shaking her head.

"Right. We're there." Tasuki piped up leading them into a room with red carpets and a huge wood desk in the middle.

At the desk sat Hotohori and standing around the desk were four other people. One was a tall, handsome young man with teal colored hair and sparkling gray eyes dressed in black pants and dark blue tunic-like top. Next to him stood a young boy of about thirteen with brown hair tied up on top of his head, a green kimono and large, intelligent, brown eyes. Finally next to the small boy was what appeared to be a beautiful young woman. She had dark purple hair tied into a braid that fell down to the center of her back, large violet eyes and wore purple pants and a purple vest. Slightly behind her stood the tallest of the seishi, Mitsukake, Tama-Neko perched on his shoulder.

Kyari's eyes widened at the impressive site of an official meeting of the Sichiseishi of Suzaku. Tasuki went to stand next to Mitsukake. Chichiri was about to follow but, he notice Kyari hanging back

"What are you waiting for, Suzaku no peacekeeper?" Chichiri asked gently.

Kyari smiled a little at the formal address, ducked her head respectively and went to stand next to Chichiri and Tasuki.

Hotohori clapped his hands together softly to bring the meeting to order. "Now that we are all assembled, the first order of business is to introduce the newest member of the Suzaku Seven. Kyari, step forward please." the emperor said addressing everyone formally.

Kyari swallowed nervously and hesitantly stepped forward.

"Kyari has been chosen to become the Peacekeeper for the Suzaku seishi. She has been chosen by Suzaku to help protect the Miko and her warriors. This means that she will be accompanying you all to Hokkan tomorrow." Hotohori continued.

"Protect us?" Tasuki interrupted " She's so tiny I feel like _I_ should be protectin' _her_!"

Kyari looked down at her shoes, feeling three feet tall.

"Now was that fair, Tasuki?"  demanded the purple haired seishi.

"Maybe not, but it's true!" the flame haired young man retorted.

"Nuriko's right. We should give the kid a chance." spoke up the teal haired seishi. " She probably has some really great battle moves or something. I mean Suzaku wouldn't have chosen her if she were a useless weakling."

"That's right, no da." Chichiri chimed in " How will we know what Kyari's capable of if we don't give her a chance, no da?"

Tasuki scowled then admitted defeat. " But I still gotta see her skills before I'll put my life in her hands." he muttered.

Hotohori shook his head then went on " If Tasuki's done putting down the one destined to help us in our quest, then we'll resume our meeting. I haven't called you here to discuss the intelligence of Suzaku's choices or their repercussions, I called you all here to see if you would be ready to leave tomorrow."

Everyone nodded or said yes.

"Right. Kyari will this leave you enough time to prepare?" the emperor asked the peacekeeper.

" Sure. It's not like I have anything to bring…. Lost my schoolbag when I fell in the river." the girl answered a little sullenly.

"Is it purple and dark blue, no da?" Chichiri asked 

Kyari looked up at him and nodded "Why? You seen it?" she asked eagerly.

"Hai. It was by the riverside, no da. I'll show you after the meeting's done." he answered.

Kyari smiled at him then turned back to Hotohori. " In that case gimme about two hours to track down my bag, and then I'll be ready." she revised her previous answer.

The emperor nodded and dismissed everyone. As they left the purple haired seishi and the small boy came up to Kyari.

"By the way Kyari, my name's Nuriko and this here's Chiriko." the seishi told the girl,  pointing first at herself then gesturing to the boy.

"Nice to meet you guys. And thanks for sticking up for me in there Nuriko. It's pretty cool that you did seeing as you don't know me." she told the older seishi.

"Anytime. Don't take Tasuki too seriously though, he acts big and mean but he's just a big two-year-old." Nuriko replied.

"Who was that other guy? The one with tealish hair?" Kyari asked "Since I'll be with you guys for awhile, I figure I might as well know you're names y'know?"

"Good idea and his name is Tamahome." Chiriko spoke up.

"Thanks…um Chiriko right?"

The boy nodded and said " I should go prepare for tomorrow, as we'll be up early. See you at dinner."

With that he hurried off towards his room.

"I should go find Chichiri and then my pack." Kyari agreed " See ya later."

Nuriko waved and headed towards her room while Kyari went the opposite way, where she'd last seen Chichiri headed.  

*********************** Well, whatcha think? Better? Worse? And for all you guys out there who think that I made a mistake when I was writing the Nuriko parts up, I didn't for now Kyari thinks of him as a girl so I use 'she' or 'her' to describe him 'till Kyari figures out he's a him. (And if you made any sense outta that ten points for you.) 'til  next chappy,

                                                           ~Tenshi Kitsune~          


	6. Wrong Thing To Say

A/n: Well here's chapter 6! As per usual Kyari is my own character and the FY cast belongs to the talented Yuu Watase. And here's the chapter…

Kyari wandered down the hall trying to find Chichiri, when a girl in a brown school uniform with emerald eyes and brown hair of about her age came out of a room a little ways ahead.

The girl spotted Kyari and came to talk to her.

"Hi, you must be the newest member of our group." the girl said cheerfully "My name's Miaka and I'm the Suzaku no Miko. What's your name?"

"M-my name's Kyari." The other replied a little shyly "They tell me I'm the peacekeeper, but I'm not too sure about that…"

"Why not? I think you'll do a great job as peacekeeper. I'm good at reading other people and you look like you'd do a good job." Miaka said encouragingly.

"Think so? Well I'll give it my best." Kyari told her, giving Miaka a smile. 

Miaka returned her smile with one of her own and turned to go.

"I have to go find Tamahome right now, but maybe you can come with us to the Star- gazing Festival tonight. You know, get to know each other a little before we leave tomorrow." she said over her shoulder.  

"See you there!" Kyari called back as she headed down the hall in the opposite direction. 

She wandered around for a little while longer before she finally caught sight of the now-familiar blue haired monk.

"Chichiri!" she called "Hey wait up!"

He turned and Kyari caught up to him "So are we going to find my pack, or are you busy too? If you are just give me directions and I'll find it myself." she asked, giving him a shy smile.   

"Actually I was just on my way to find you, no da." he told her "It works out perfectly. Last time I saw it, your bag was by the river where I first found you, no da. I'll take you there."

He took off his kesa and threw it over the two of them. When they reappeared they were standing on the riverbank where Kyari had first fallen into the book.

The peacekeeper stood for a second watching the river gently flowing. She laughed a little at how far away yesterday morning seemed to her.

It's like I started a new life. No responsibilities yet, no parents, no reminders of the past. Nothing. she thought. She shook her head and turned back to Chichiri.

The monk had been watching her as she looked into the water and gave the girl a quizzical look. "What were you thinking of, no da?" he asked curiously " I mean if you don't mind me asking." he added quickly.

"I was just thinking of how much I like it here and how if I could never get home it might not be so bad…" she said without thinking.

Chichiri gave her a funny look but didn't say anything. An awkward silence followed and Kyari suggested they hurry up and find her pack so that they could get back to the palace and finish getting ready. Chichiri agreed and they set about looking through bushes and near the riverbank. 

Finally after twenty minutes of looking, Chichiri found the purple bag and called to Kyari.

"I found your bag, no da!"

"Thanks!" Kyari called back, appearing from behind a row of bushes. She went over to Chichiri and took her pack from him, giving the monk a grateful smile. 

" I really appreciate you helping me like this." she told him eyes downcast, cheeks going a bit pink.

"Anytime, no da." Chichiri replied kindly.

"Yeah, I know. It's just… you've all been so nice to me, (Well, except for Fang-boy back there, but that's besides the point.), and I'm not really used to all this compassion and stuff." she confided " Usually I have to fend for myself. It's a nice change."

Chichiri looked at her, his eyes softening. "Really?" he asked, the lack of his usual 'no da' and indication that he was serious "Is that why you said it might not be so bad if you could never go home?"

Kyari looked back at the young man, sizing him up with her eyes, trying to see if he was trustworthy. Finally she heaved a sigh and sat down in the grass, setting her backpack down next to her. Chichiri followed suit as Kyari took a deep breath and said at last "Yeah that's exactly why I said that. I mean, it's not like anyone would miss me or anything. Hell, I've raised myself for the past eleven years, it's not like my mom would care… and my dad? Let's just not get into that." she laughed bitterly "The one person who ever cared about me is long gone. So basically the only one who'd even notice I was gone is Suisei."

"Well there's a reason to want to go home." Chichiri said, in an effort to cheer up the peacekeeper. "Suisei would miss you."

"Maybe, but he's my cat. If he's the only one who cares about me then I'd still rather stay here. At least here people like me… Back home they see me as…" she cut herself off, remembering she was talking to someone she'd just met the day before "Well for what I am." she finished heavily.

"They see you as kind, sensitive, intelligent and eager to help?" asked a confused Chichiri " What's so bad about that?"

"Nobody sees me like that." Kyari told him ruefully  " They all know what I did…" at these words her voice got quieter and her eyes lost their shine "They all know how it happened and why…." 

The girl drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them, glaring at the grass.

"What did you do?" Chichiri asked softly.

Kyari's eyes went wide and fearful as she looked up sharply. The girl started to tremble violently and she shrank back from Chichiri. 

"Are you alright?" the monk asked, startled by the girl's violent reaction.

The peacekeeper hid her face and whimpered. Kyari seemed to fall into her own world as she tried to make herself as small as possible, and she started whispering to herself. Chichiri couldn't make out what she was saying but he realized that she must have been having a kind of panic attack. He knelt down in front of her and took hold of her shoulders. Gently, but with enough force to move her, he shook her.

"Kyari!" he shouted urgently "Come on, come back! It's okay!"

The small girl only tightened herself into a smaller ball, still trembling.

"Come on, you have to come back!" Chichiri kept crying. He reached up a hand and took off his mask so he could see her face better then continued shaking her. "Kyari, please! Come back!"

Finally the monk felt her come out of her world and the girl's head snapped up. For a few minutes the two locked eyes. Chichiri could see the strange mix of pain, regret and fear in the girl's blue-green eyes, the silent tears flowing down her cheeks and how vulnerable she looked like this. His heart filled with repentance at the sight and he bowed his head.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered "I never meant to hurt you like this…"

Kyari tried to tell him it was okay but her voice had somehow left her and all that came out was a sob. She flung her arms around the monk and wept. At first Chichiri was too surprised to react, but after a second he put his arms around the girl and held her as she cried. 

****** Well there's chapter six for you. Again, sorry I always take so long to update I'm just trying to get the best possible stories out. So yeah r/r if you liked it (or r/r if you didn't. just don't be too rough on me this's my first real ficcy.) so yeah till chapter 7.

 ~Tenshi Kitsune~ *************  


	7. Making Amends

A/N: Well it's chapter seven and I'll do my best to make it good. An especially BIG thank you to all my reviewers/readers. You make me wanna write more and it's good to know that I'm at least a decent writer (as that's what I wanna be when I'm outta school). So yeah, Domo arigato gozaimasu na no da! And that damn disclaimer I've gotta put up to avoid lawsuits: Fushigi Yuugi is the property of Watase Yuu and all the corporations that use her stuff…blah blah blah and Kyari's mine so y'can't steal her unless you ask first. To ch 7….

As the monk held the sobbing peacekeeper in his arms he felt another wave of guilt wash over him. All he'd wanted to do was help but instead he'd hurt her. The young man tightened his hold on Kyari and whispered " I'm sorry." for about the millionth time.

Finally the girl found her voice and she managed to choke out "It's alright, it's not your fault… you couldn't have known I'd react this way."

She pulled back a little so she could see his face properly and a hand fluttered to her mouth as she stifled a gasp. She was staring at the most beautiful face she'd seen in a long time. The soft and gentle features creased in concern, right eye filled with remorse and guilt, the left sealed shut forever by a horrible scar that ran from the bridge of his nose to just a few inches below where his silvery blue hair started.

Chichiri shifted his gaze to the grass and reached for his mask. "I'm sorry, I forgot about that…" he mumbled a bit self-consciously.

Kyari stayed the monk's hand and shook her head. "Please don't." she whispered half in awe, half in curiosity "I-I…I mean…y-your…you too…wow!" she finished finally, her eyes shining with wonder and a look of childlike incredulity on her face. 

Chichiri gave her a puzzled look. "N-Nani?" he stammered.

Dashing away the few remaining tears, she gave Chichiri a sympathetic smile. "I thought I was the only one with that kind of past…I mean not to be rude or even suggest that you have the same past as me but… I never, _ever_, found _anyone _anywhere who could even start to understand how much this" she gently brought her hand up to trace the thin line of her scar "hurts or how every time you see your own face it sparks this indescribable wave of regret." she put her head to one side and gave Chichiri a calculating look. "But somehow, I figure maybe you have it worse than I do." the girl added thoughtfully. "So I'm not gonna complain."  

Chichiri looked back at Kyari and couldn't help giving the peacekeeper a small half-smile. "There's more to you than meets the eye, isn't there, Suzaku No Peacekeeper?" he asked lightly, giving the girl a look filled with laughter and gentle accusation.

Kyari blushed and gave the monk a guilty look "I guess there is." she said timidly, her eyes dancing with mischief. 

They looked at each other for a few seconds, then burst out laughing.

"This has gotta be the best day of my life!" Kyari giggled " I love it! First I get saved by possibly the sweetest man on the face of the earth; when I feel three feet tall, two people I just met stick up for me and actually give me a chance to prove myself before judging me and now I'm actually laughing!". She smiled from ear to ear and sighed happily, looking up into Chichiri's smiling face.

The magician shook his head at her, cheeks a little red and wondered how Kyari managed to go from mild panic attack to nearly crying with laughter in less than twenty minutes. The monk was getting a good look at the peacekeeper for the first time and he realized how pretty her eyes were when they sparkled, how open and honest her face was, how the afternoon sun caught the red and gold streaks in her hair and made them dance and shimmer… but most of all he saw how happy she was. He smiled at the girl and sighed happily, feeling pretty good himself. 

"D'you know what sucks, 'Chiri?" Kyari asked suddenly.

He tilted his head to one side "No, what sucks, no da?"

The peacekeeper made a face. "The fact that we hafta leave soon to finish packing and stuff."

"We don't have to leave _right_ now, no da." Chichiri said giving Kyari a playful grin. 

"And I thought you were a monk." Kyari laughed. She put her head on Chichiri's shoulder and closed her eyes for a minute, just letting the joy of the moment flow through her. The other put his arm around her shoulders and smiled, happy to have some time to just sit back and relax for a change instead of having to make sure everything was going alright. 

After only a short while Kyari sat up again and reached for her backpack. "We should get back." she said simply "The others are gonna wonder what the hell's taking us so long."

Chichiri nodded and pulled his kasa out from behind him. He tossed it up into the air and the hat fell down over the pair transporting them back to the palace.

"I'll see you later 'Chiri." Kyari called as she headed off towards her room.

"Hai. Later, na no da." The monk called back, going towards the Emperor's study.

Kyari pushed open the door to her room and tossed her bag onto her bed. " Lessee what I've got in here.." she mumbled as she undid the zipper "Clothes…candy…library books …more candy…gloves… batteries…flashlight…c'mon you're here somewhere!" she rifled through her bag a little more and finally dug out a string of beads and an old picture. She tucked the picture into her breast pocket and pulled the beads around her neck. "There. Now even if I lose the bag again I won't lose you." she said softly. Pulling the zipper closed again, she shoved her bag under a chair and headed back out to find Miaka.

********* well there it is guys chapter 7. Maybe not the best but, I tried. So yes, tell me what you think and here's a glossary of the Japanese words I used.

Hai- yes or right (if you're doing roll call it also means 'present')

Nani?- what? Or huh?

 And that's it for now. Ja ne! ~Tenshi Kitsune~**************************


	8. Making Friends

A/N: Well it's chapter 8 and I still got at least one person reading this. So here we go with that stupid disclaimer I always gotta put up Fushigi Yuugi isn't mine but Kyari is. So on to the chapter…

As Kyari wandered around, she saw the rock where she'd almost fallen that morning. She smiled as she remembered who had saved her and what had happened by the river just ten minutes before.

_He's something else, that monk._ she thought to herself as she rounded a turn in the hall. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she smashed right into Miaka.

"Owww!" the priestess cried, more in surprise then in pain.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry!" Kyari stammered, picking herself up off the floor where she'd fallen.

Miaka smiled good-naturedly. " Don't worry about it." she chirped cheerfully " Hey, about the festival tonight… Tasuki and Nuriko are coming too. Is that alright?"

The peacekeeper groaned inwardly at the mention of the fiery seishi but she smiled and said "Yeah sure. So meet you guys in front of the gates at around eight tonight?"

"Yup. See you there." Miaka turned and started in the direction of her room "I still have some last minute packing to do, so I gotta go. But, we'll see each other at the festival, 'kay?"

" Sounds good to me. I have some stuff to do too. See you later!" Kyari called as she turned back to the pond. _It might not be the most important stuff in the world, but it's still stuff._

She walked to the edge of the water and smiled down into it. "Beauty in it's purest form." she sighed. "The water not me, mind." she added for the benefit of the frog she'd been talking to. The frog looked up at her, blinked as if to ask 'why are you talking to me?' and hopped into the water with a splash. Kyari giggled and kept walking. She was halfway around the lake when she felt eyes on the back of her head. Her footsteps faltered a bit and she turned sharply. Nobody. Feeling a little creeped out, the girl shook her head and continued walking, only a bit faster this time.

Out of nowhere a pair of hands seized the peacekeeper's shoulders and she gasped in surprise. Whirling to face her attacker, Kyari put both hands in front of her and concentrated. A purple light glowed in the center of each palm.

"Don't shoot!!! Don't shoot!" yelped whoever had grabbed her.

"Tasuki?" Kyari stammered, hurriedly dropping her hands "What the hell?"

"Why didn't ya tell somebody you could throw ki blasts?" demanded the bandit "Ya coulda killed me!"

"Well you're the moron sneaking up on me. You forget I used to live in another world, where if someone grabs you by the shoulders you stun them first ask questions later." the girl told him evenly "Why did you anyways? Sneak up on me I mean"

Tasuki shrugged. "I was just teasin'." he said simply "Usually the worst that'll happen is I end up in a brawl with Tama. I wasn't expectin' ki blasts."   
Kyari gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that." she said guiltily "Are you okay?"

The fiery seishi nodded. "Yeah. An' that was my fault after all. You were just acting in self defense." He flashed her a reassuring grin that showed off his fangs.

"Cool fangs." the girl remarked, thinking that maybe, just maybe, she could actually get to like this hotheaded young man.

He grinned at her again and the pair continued walking around the pond, talking unconcernedly. They came to the edge of a forest and all of a sudden without knowing why, Kyari turned and hugged Tasuki round the middle.

"What th'…!" he exclaimed sharply, cheeks going pink.

"I have no idea." Kyari admitted, her eyes twinkling to match her smile "I'm just so happy! I have friends! And they like me! And I like them!"  

She let go of the bewildered bandit she'd been hugging and ran ahead a few meters. She pulled a handspring then punched the air crying "Yeeeaaahhh!".

Her flame-haired companion just stared.

"Heheheheh…" Kyari laughed sheepishly "Now that I've regained my sanity…" she said as she went back to walk with Tasuki "What were you doing before you grabbed me?"

Tasuki shrugged "Nothin'. Just walkin' around and thinking s'all."

"Mind if I join you?" the girl asked.

The bandit shook his head and the pair kept on, each with their own thoughts.

***************Well here's chapter eight finally. Sorry it's so short I'm very stuck at the moment but I promise the story'll pick up real soon. 

~Tenshi Kitsune~  **************************************************   


	9. On The Way To Genbu

A/N: It's chapter nine and this story's still going! Wow my best run yet! Cool. Anyways I'll try to get to the ship scene by the end of this chappy but if I don't, never fear ch 10 will pick it up and you won't be disappointed (I hope ^.^) at any rate I own not Fushigi Yuugi but Kyari is mine so paws off and now the story.

As Tasuki and Kyari continued their walk around the pond, the sun started to set sending rays of pink and red dancing over the glass-like surface of the water.

The peacekeeper smiled as she walked, looking at the water. "I've never seen anything like this." she breathed in awe.

"What? A sunset?" demanded Tasuki "You don't go out much, do you?"

"I live in a city." Kyari explained.

"So? Konan's a city. We see sunsets all the time."

Kyari sighed. "A big city, Tasuki, a really big city. With too many lights and too many buildings all around." the girl clarified "The only time I ever get to see the sunset dancing across the water like this is if I happen to be staring at the duck pond in the park before the street lamps come on."

"Street lamps? You mean a lamp with some kind of torch in it?" the bandit asked in confusion.

"That's right. Only ours are automatic." she told him " Plus, they're annoyingly bright and usually stationed right outside my apartment window no matter where I move." 

"No matter where you move? How often do you move around?" Tasuki asked, making a face that showed half confusion, half curiosity.

"Pretty often. I keep trying to get away from people, but they seem to like following me around so I keep having to move away."

"Why do you hate people so much anyways?"

Kyari shrugged as she climbed onto a boulder and sat down to look over the water's darkening surface. " It's not that I hate people, per say. It's that they all seem to hate me once they get closer to me." she shook her head bitterly "Ch... I don't exactly blame them… I mean _I _hate me for cryin' out loud, they got every right."

Tasuki frowned and came to sit next to her. "I'm people and I don't hate you." he said softly "I don't think I could, even if I tried."

The peacekeeper gave him a small smile. "Thanks, but that makes one down and seventeen billion left. Seventeen billion is a lot of people y'know, it's not fun to have every single one of them staring at you every time you go out, to have them look down their noses at you whenever you say hi…but whatever. That's their problem."

"That can't be true! I don't look down at you! Neither does Chiri', or any of us for that matter! Not even Tama-Neko!" Tasuki cried indignantly "Why do you think everyone hates you?! You're not a bad person…I don't get it." he finished, voice softer now.

"Wait a bit you'll see." Kyari answered ruefully. "You'll find out just like the others did and then…" she trailed off, letting a tear slide down her cheek. " And then I'll lose the best friends I ever had or ever will have."

"Hey…don't cry kid. No matter what we find out, we won't stop bein' your friends." Tasuki said reassuringly "You're part of the team now, Suzaku Shichiseishi don't let each other down. Whether it's sharing a laugh or calming our fears we're all there for each other and now we're there for you too." He put his arm around the girl's shoulders and squeezed her arm lightly. "Don't you forget it."

Kyari looked up gratefully into Tasuki's sincere amber eyes and laughed softly. "How is it that a bandit I just met yesterday knows how to cheer me up when even my best friend of twelve years can't?" she mused.

Tasuki gave her a puzzled look. "How'd you know I'm a bandit? And I dunno but glad I could help."

"Your eyes. They tell me more about you than you can ever tell me with words." the girl replied " Don't worry I can't see your secrets or stuff like that. The only thing I can see is if you're a good person or not the rest I figure out myself."

"Oh. Cool."

"Yeah, I suppose." She paused for a second then said, "Suddenly, I'm really tired. I'll see you tomorrow when we leave alright?"

"You're not coming to the festival with us?"

Kyari shook her head. "Nah, you guys go. Have fun." With that she got up and started walking back to her room before Tasuki could protest.

Once she was back in her room, Kyari sat staring at the fireplace. Even though there was no fire lit she felt as if she were drawn to the dark space created by the wall. As she stared she soon found a pair of eyes staring back at her.

"What the!" she yelped starting backwards and nearly falling over the back of her chair.

In the place where the fire should have been, floated an aged old woman with a sour face and mystical clothing. Her ribbons flowed around her and she was staring at Kyari with eyes as cold as ice. 

"Suzaku no Peacekeeper." she said at last, her voice gravelly "Do you know who I am?"

"N-not really." the girl stammered, settling herself back into a cross-legged position on the chair.

"I am the oracle of the four Gods, Taiitsukun," the old woman informed her "I was sent by Suzaku to give you your instructions."

"I-instructions?"

Taiitsukun nodded. "You have chosen to become the peacekeeper have you not?"

Kyari nodded solemnly.

"Then you have also accepted all the responsibilities that come with the title. They are as follows you must make sure that the Suzaku Shichiseishi are all alive and well until they find the Shinzaho. You must also make certain that the Suzaku no Miko is not harmed in any way during your quest. To properly do this you must know your enemies." She continued.

"Enemies?" Kyari asked, narrowing her eyes "What enemies?"

"The Seriyuu Shichiseishi. They are strong and very shrewd. Their Shogun, Nakago no seishi will stop at nothing to gain power and crush Konan in his fist."

"Is that it? You're worried about one guy?" the peacekeeper asked disbelievingly.

"This 'one guy' as you put it has more power than even Chichiri, who has received training from me." the old woman shot back "You must not let anything distract you from your duties, do you understand Kyari?" 

"Hai. I understand." the girl said sitting up as straight as she could "I won't let anything happen to them, I promise."

"Good." Taiitsukun said approvingly "By the way, when I said don't let anything distract you that included blue-haired monks." she added giving Kyari a hard stare.

The girl blushed to the roots of her hair and nodded meekly. "H-hai" she squeaked.

Taiitsukun waved her arms and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Kyari's eyes flew opened and she sat staring at the ceiling for a while. "That was an interesting dream…" she thought "An old lady shows up to tell me to be careful and keep everyone safe…wait. Was it a dream?" she looked around the dark room and realized she was still in the chair by the empty fireplace. "Guess not. Well whatever it was I promised not to let anything happen to those guys and I won't." she thought sleepily. "Not after they took me in and accepted me as a friend without some kind of hidden reason." Her eyes crept shut on her again and she fell into her dreams once more.

The next morning Kyari found that she had been moved to her bed and vaguely remembered a pair of arms lifting her up and gently placing her under the covers, pulling the blankets up under her chin. She smiled at the memory and slowly pushed her legs over the side of the bed. She pulled on a fresh tunic and grabbed her bag, pulling the door open and stepping out into the morning air. 

The sun was already up and it was shining happily down on the city and the palace grounds, warming everything it touched.

"Great day to launch a boat." she said to herself as she headed across the lawn.

She met Chiriko along the way and helped the boy to carry his things to the boat where everyone else was waiting.

"Hey where's Tamahome?" the girl asked as she noticed that the teal-haired seishi wasn't on the dock with the rest.

"He went to get his family Kyari-san. Nuriko and Miaka are with him as well." Chiriko explained "Hotohori- sama said that they could stay in the palace while we're looking for the Shinzaho."

"Oh, alright then." she hesitated a second then asked, " Do you happen to know anything about the Seriyuu Shichiseishi?"

"Only that there were seven of them and that the one known as Amiboshi deceived us all by posing as me when the others tried to summon Suzaku." Chiriko told her "You should ask Chichiri-san or one of the others, they would know better than I do."

"Thanks. " the girl said, nodding her thanks "I think I just might do that." She turned and went over to where Chichiri was talking with Hotohori. 

"…We take the pass through Genbu we'll get there faster, no da." Chichiri was saying, "So really that's our best option."

Hotohori nodded. "I suppose so." he sighed "I only wish I could accompany you. It seems that I never get to leave the confines of my palace…"

Kyari whirled on her heels and started walking the other way. "Okay then… not going to listen in other people's conversations." she said to herself "Even if that was pretty interesting…No! Mustn't listen! Mustn't!" she forced herself to keep walking and kept arguing to herself as she went. Not paying the least bit of attention to where she was going, she stepped on something. Figuring it was just a rock she kept on until a voice yelled after her "Yeah sure! Step on me then pretend you didn't!"

Kyari stopped and faced the owner of the voice "Gomen Tasuki!" she apologized "I was caught up in an argument with myself."

The flame-haired seishi shot her a funny look, shrugged, and then turned to walk away.

"Wait! I have a question!" Kyari called, catching his arm "Who are the Seriyuu Shichiseishi? I mean what do they look like and stuff?"

"Well so far we only know of two of them. They're Nakago and Amiboshi, but Amiboshi got killed by accident after he tricked us into thinking he was Chiriko and messed up our summoning ceremony." he explained.

"How do you 'accidentally' kill someone?" Kyari demanded, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Well he let go of his flute when Miaka tried to save him." Tasuki told her "I think he wanted to make up for what he did to us. He deserved what he got if you ask me…"

"Nobody _deserves_ to die." Kyari said flatly. She turned and stalked off to help Chiriko and Chichiri load up the ship.

Tasuki stared after her. "What'd I say?" he wondered.

A few hours later Tamahome came back with Miaka and Nuriko not far behind, he looked worn and his eyes were red rimmed as if he'd been crying. He spoke briefly with Chichiri and then wandered off to talk with Miaka.

Kyari's brows creased in concern and she went over to Chichiri. "What's wrong?" she asked "Where's Tamahome's family?"

" They were murdered by a Seriyuu Seishi named Suboshi, no da." Chichiri said gravely "Tamahome found them and he tried to kill Suboshi. Unfortunately, Suboshi escaped with the help of Soi, another of the Seriyuu. He seems to be all right for right now. I think all he needs is some time to himself."

Kyari shook her head sadly. "I will never understand why the innocent always have to get hurt just because some psycho feels the need for revenge." she said shortly "But I'm glad Tamahome's alright."

"Me too, no da. We should be casting off soon." Chichiri told her "So we're going to start boarding."

Kyari nodded. "See you later, then I'm sure you have better stuff to be doing than talking to me."

Chichiri gave her a catlike smile. "I always have time to talk, no da. I do have things to do though." he admitted "See you on the ship, no da"

As Kyari headed up the gangplank, she caught sight of Tasuki arguing heatedly with Chiriko, Nuriko, and Miaka. Curious to see what was going on she went over to the group.

"What's up guys?" she asked.

"Tasuki-san refuses to board the ship." Chiriko explained.

"I am NOT getting on that ship!" Tasuki said hotly "There is no way in HELL you can make me."

"See?" Nuriko asked exasperatedly "We tried everything short of carrying him on."

"Hmm.." Kyari put a hand to her chin as she thought for a minute. " I know!" she cried.

She went over to Tasuki and stood on tiptoe so she could reach his ears and whispered something.

"Really?" the bandit asked disbelievingly.

The peacekeeper nodded solemnly. "Yup. So c'mon and we'll face the waves together, alright?"

The flame-haired seishi considered for a second, then followed the girl to the gangplank. Halfway up the bandit stopped and looked down at the water splashing below him. His eyes widened and he turned to run, but smashed into a guard. The guard shifted the box he was carrying to his other arm and picked up Tasuki in the other.

"Lemme down, goddammit!" Tasuki yelled, trying to free himself from the guard's strong grip. The guard paid him no mind and only let him down once they were safely on the ship.  

Finally once everyone was on board, the others on the dock started pulling the gangplank down, ready to send the ship and all its passengers off on its quest. 

Miaka gathered everyone in one place and took a few pictures of them all and then everyone went off to do their own thing. 

Chiriko went to his room to read, Nuriko went off to the kitchens with Miaka not far behind, Mitsukake went to his room to set his things in order and Chichiri disappeared somewhere to meditate. Tasuki and Tamahome stood at the rail of the ship arguing and occasionally swatting each other. Kyari sighed as she headed to the back of the ship to be by herself. This may have been better than home but still… She shook her head to push back the darkness that seemed to be creeping up on her and sat watching Konan get smaller and smaller as they drifted to sea.

********* And so there's chapter nine for you! Longer than the others but that's cause I wanted to put up ten as well. (That didn't make sense but oh well ^.^)  Here's the glossary:

Shogun means general.

Shichiseishi means seven seishi (Shichi=seven seishi=celestial warriors)

Tama-Neko is Mitsukake's cat

So that's it for now and see you next chapter!

~Tenshi K.~


	10. Talking It All Out

A/N: Well another chapter out. Before I start with other stuff I want to thank Roku Kyu for letting me use a line from one of her stories (it's from 'Bridge Over The Abyss'). 'If you cannot bring yourself to say the words, then the words will always hold power over you. The story will control you and hold you in the past, instead of you controlling it.' That line. So anyways I don't own Fushigi Yuugi or that line but I own Kyari. 

The girl sat for a while lost in her own mind. A hand gently touched her shoulder and she started. "Oh it's you Chiri'." she mumbled absently.

"Are you alright Kyari?" the monk asked worriedly "You look like you're about to cry."

"What the hell do you care!" the girl snapped, suddenly furious with the monk "Get away from me!" She crossed her arms in front of her and glared at him.

"If that's what you want…"Chichiri said softly "If you want to talk I'll be in my room, okay?"

Kyari just turned back to face the water. 

The magician of Suzaku turned and started walking in the direction of his cabin. He had momentarily felt the girl's sadness and wondered why she'd gotten so angry with him.  "Maybe I hit a nerve, no da." he thought as he walked away.  

Once she was sure Chichiri had gone Kyari's shoulders slumped forward and she closed her eyes as memories of that awful day eleven years ago resurfaced. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter in an effort to suppress her pain. Suddenly, Kyari felt footsteps reverberating on the deck and she looked up at the figure of Suzaku's warrior-monk, his form blurred by tears.

"Hi." he said softly "Is everything alright?" he tried again.

The girl shook her head as tears leaked out of the corners of her blue-green eyes.

"Want to talk about it?" the monk asked gently, removing his mask and coming to sit next to the girl.   

Another shake of the head.

"Are you sure?" Chichiri pressed, knowing the girl well enough by now to know that she did want to talk but didn't want to be in the way. All she needed was a little reassurance and compassion to be able to open up to someone.

"Yes…I mean no, I mean…aw hell I don't know…" she said softly.  "I just don't know if I could handle telling you what I did." the girl admitted as tears slipped down her cheeks.

" It's like a friend of mine once told me, 'if you cannot bring yourself to say the words, then the words will always hold power over you. The story will control you and hold you in the past, instead of you controlling it.'" Chichiri told her gently "Is that what you want Kyari? To let your past control you?" 

"N-no." the girl sobbed brokenly "It's just that… it's just so hard to talk about it after so long…"

"I understand, but I know you're strong enough to overcome this. I'm right here to help you through this and I promise that I'm not about to laugh at your fears or mistakes." the monk reassured her "I'm also not going to look at you any differently, no matter what you tell me." he added, sensing that this was the real reason the peacekeeper was so reluctant to open up to him.

The girl looked up sharply and gave Chichiri a watery half-smile, nodding mutely in response. "Alright." she whispered, seeming to fall back into the darkness that was her own private hell "Here goes nothing…" she took a deep breath and began her story " It was eleven years ago. I was six. Me and my little sister were out by the park playing and laughing… we got into a fight over a toy or something like that and all of a sudden I got so mad at her I felt like I was gonna explode! I remember every bad feeling I'd ever had surface and become like fire… every tear, every time I'd been hit by my dad, every time I was so scared all I could do was cry…" Kyari choked on the words but forced herself to keep going "All burning inside me and it was all her fault! Her fault for being younger, her fault for being weaker, her fault for being the goddamn favorite! It was all her fault and in that moment something inside me snapped, like a twig under your shoes… I felt this horrible power surge through me and all I could think was 'Kill it! Get it out of your life forever! Make her pay for all those times she did something wrong and then you got blamed…all those times you cried yourself to sleep all alone 'cause Mom was in the next room drinking and Dad was God-knows-where doing God-knows-what…" next thing I knew I was on the grass, with her beneath me and I was yelling ' It's your fault! Your fault! Your fault! Your fault!'… Each time I said that I punched her, harder and harder until I felt her go limp under me. Then I kept going, driving my little fists into her face…her stomach…anywhere that I could reach…" the peacekeeper's hands clenched into hard fists as the pain flowed through her and tears flowed freely down her face. She cut herself off unable to continue her horrifying tale, burying her face in her hands as sobs racked her small body. All of a sudden strong arms were holding her in a gentle embrace while Chichiri's voice whispered "It's alright… just let it out…shhh… it's okay I've got you…it's okay…"

Kyari flung herself at the monk and buried her face in his kesa crying and shaking as she tried to finish her story "I-I k-kept hitting her a-and…a-and when I finally got my sanity back…I saw that she was…was… and her face was frozen into that horrified stare…God those eyes! Those eyes!" the girl trailed off again, tightening her hold on Chichiri, and took a deep shuddering breath " Then I ran…I don't know for how long but I never went back. Never." At last she couldn't take anymore as wave after wave of remorse flowed over her and memory after memory flashed across her mind and she pulled away from Chichiri. She stared at her hands in horror, as yet more tears poured down her face. She balled her hands into fists again and smashed them into her knees over and over sobbing. Tears blinded her and so she felt rather than saw Chichiri's hands grasp her wrists and stop her. The magician pulled her back into his arms and hugged her fiercely but gently enough to let her breath and move, tears standing in his own eye at how much this was costing her, "It's okay Kyari, it's over now… You don't have to tell me anymore. It's alright…" he murmured into her hair " Shhh… it's okay…"

"I didn't mean to… I didn't… honest…" she wept, voice soft and childlike "I loved her so much…I'd never want to hurt her and yet…and yet." she trailed off and buried her face deeper into the folds of Chichiri's kesa, letting the monk hold her and send waves of comfort to her. "The first thing I tried to do was end it all there and then…" she turned over her left hand to show Chichiri a small scar right next to the vein in her wrist and then touched the thin line under her eye "but I couldn't so instead I cried. For hours and days I cried and screamed and re-lived it all… the screams and tears and blood…'till the day I could push it all back and forget…" the peacekeeper trailed off, voice finally giving out. She crushed her face into the soft folds of Chichiri's cloak, shoulders shaking, face burning with shame and regret.

"It's okay…it's all over. You're safe now." the monk whispered softly as a solitary tear found it's way down his cheek and into her hair. "I've got you. Shh…"

The peacekeeper drew in a deep breath and collapsed in his arms, unable to stay conscious any longer.

*******And so ends chapter ten. Sorry if it was too angsty or melodramatic or whatever but I had to show people why Kyari is the way she is, all cynical and stuff. Tell me what you thought and see you next chapter. 

~Tenshi Kitsune~ ******************************* 


	11. Resolution And Forgiveness

A/N: well here it is chapter 11! It won't be as dramatic as last chapter but I warn in advance of some fluffiness. Yes in any case I don't own Fushigi Yuugi but I do own Kyari. To the chapter…

Kyari felt herself falling away from Chichiri and she stretched out her hand, reaching for the safety she felt when the monk was near. Try as she might she couldn't reach and she kept falling into the darkness that was pulling her down. 

"No! Not like last time! No!" she cried, her voice sounding strangely far away. She struggled and stretched her arm as far as it would go, straining every joint and muscle in her arm and hand. "Chichiri!" she cried desperately "Chichiri!"

Suddenly she felt her hand brush against another's. She pushed her arm further, ignoring the screaming protests of her body and finally caught hold of the hand. The peacekeeper kept a tight hold on the hand as it pulled her out of the dark void that was trying to pull her under. The girl broke free of it and found that the hand belonged to Chichiri. He had saved her. Pulling her close, he held her and let her cry on his shoulder as she sobbed with relief and happiness at finally being freed from her internal prison. She buried her face in the monk's kesa and let him console her.

Then the world started to shimmer and fade and Kyari felt herself waking up and going back to reality. She was in a bed and she was holding onto someone's hand. She tried to open her eyes but the faint light filtering in through the window above her bed hurt her eyes and made her head pound more fiercely. She whimpered and shook her head to fight the dull throbbing in her skull, forcing her eyes to open. The first thing the girl saw was her hand resting in the palm of Chichiri's and the monk's soft features drawn in concern. He wasn't wearing his mask and his eye still held a glimmer of a tear. 

Soft teal eyes looked up into an anxious amber one and Kyari smiled a little. 

"Are you okay?" asked the magician.

"I did it…" Kyari whispered. "I beat it for real this time…"

"W-what? What did you beat?" the monk asked, voice a strange mix of relief and worry.

"The darkness." Kyari told him, trying to push herself into a sitting position with one hand. Chichiri gripped her arm and helped her up. "It's gone now."

"What? What darkness? I don't understand." the seishi said in confusion.

"Remember when I told you something stronger than me took me over when I…I…" she trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

Chichiri squeezed her hand reassuringly and nodded understandingly. "Go on."

"Well I beat it once and for all. It's gone forever." she said in a tired voice. " Or I should say we beat it. Without you I never could've done it."

"Me? What did I do?" Chichiri asked incredulously.

"You came back. You cared enough to come back even after I tried to push you away from me…you came back and then I was strong enough to beat the darkness." the girl explained. "See I've had it in me for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was old enough to see the world wasn't safe, that Mom would never care about me, that Dad wouldn't stop hurting me just 'cause I said stop…All that sadness and fear and resentment turned into darkness and it pulled me under for a long time… One day I got tired of being bitter so I tried to push it under. It worked for awhile but then…then…" she paused for a second to swipe away the tear that had found it's way down her cheek  "It hid inside me for a long time after that. Then I fell into the book and suddenly there were people who cared about me, even if I'd just met them. I felt the emptiness inside get smaller and almost disappear but I was still too small to push it away. Then you came along. You were so nice to me, you really cared about me…and then after everything you did for me I went and tried to push you away. But you came back for me." her face brightened a little and she went on "You came back and you let me tell you my story without making me feel like I was being judged. You listened to me and when I saw that tear in your eye…I felt so bad 'cause I made you cry and I realized that that was the first time _I'd_ ever cared for anyone since that day when I was very young. Then I could beat it…" her voice was soft now, soft but strong. "Now it's gone and all I know is you did it and I can never repay you for that."

Chichiri looked at her, eyes shining with relief because she was alright, happiness because he helped her beat her past demons and love because she was who she was. _Love?_ he thought _ But I haven't loved anyone like this…not since Kouran._ His eye flashed momentarily with the pain of his own past resurfacing, but he pushed the pain away. _That was then_, _this is now _he reminded himself _I will never forget that day, but I don't think Kouran- or Hikou for that matter- would want me to stop living because of what happened. As bad as that was, and as much as it hurts, I have to move on. _He smiled at the peacekeeper and pulled her into a hug.

Kyari gasped in surprise, but then let herself relax as she felt his love flow through her body. She finally let go of his hand to wrap her arms around the magician. She buried her face in the space between his shoulder and his neck, hugging him tight. Tears in her eyes once again, the girl breathed in the monk's scent. He smelled like outside and peppermint and what could only be described as magic all at once, his soft silvery-blue hair felt like satin against her fingers and his presence made her forget about the world around her.

_ I never want to let go _she thought as she cuddled closer to his warm body.

Chichiri held the girl as if she was made of glass and would break if he squeezed too hard and gently inhaled her scent. It was as if she felt his love inside of her and he pulled her closer trying to give her more of that love she so needed. "I'm here for you." he said simply, voice hushed "Forever. So don't give up no matter what happens and never forget that there will _always_ be someone who loves you, alright?"

Kyari nodded and the pair stayed like that for a few minutes before Kyari pulled away for a second. "I'm sorry." she whispered, staring down at the quilt on the bed "I'm sorry I yelled at you like I did and I'm sorry I made you cry…"

"It's alright." the monk told her, taking her hands in his and looking her in the eyes "I know you didn't mean it."

She gave him a tiny smile and her eyes danced again with their usual light. The girl stared into his eyes and he stared back into hers. As she gazed into that amber orb, the peacekeeper saw the scar over his left eye again and she reached out to gently brush his cheek, right below the scar. "How'd that happen?" she wondered out loud. She blushed as she realized she'd spoken her thoughts. "I-I'm sorry…I didn't mean to say that out loud…"

"No, don't be sorry. It's alright." the young man reassured her. He sighed and then went on "It was about six years ago… I was eighteen and I was in love with a young woman named Kouran. We were engaged and I was supposed to marry her but then the day before the wedding I saw her kissing my best friend. She was so ashamed that she canceled the wedding." his hands tightened around Kyari's and the girl saw the pain and regret in the other's eye "I completely lost it. I threw a punch at my best friend and before I knew it we were in a heated brawl and heading towards the riverbank. My friend fell in. That might not have been too bad if it hadn't been the rainy season…the waters were swollen and rough as rapids…my friend couldn't swim. When I saw him go under I knew I had made the worst mistake of my entire life, I reached out my hand when he resurface and tried to pull him back up but a log came hurtling down the river and hit me in the eye. I was blinded by pain so I let go of my friend…he died." Chichiri's voice had dropped to barely more than a whisper and his grip on Kyari was almost painful as he finished his story "Ever since, I've had this scar and because it will never be fully healed it serves as a reminder to me of what the repercussions of senseless violence can be."

Kyari looked into that amber eye and saw that underneath the pain and regret was shame. Shame that had been there for six years and probably always would be there. "It's alright." She told him "You didn't mean to. It was an accident. You're not a bad person, and now that you know what can happen when things get out of hand, you'll never let anything like that ever happen again."

"But I killed my best friend…" he whispered.

"So did I, but we both know that you can't change the past, no matter what you do." she said soothingly, pulling the monk into a hug and rubbing his back reassuringly. "All you can do is make the future better."

He nodded and hugged her to him. "Even though it's painful…"  he murmured.

She nodded and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I want you to promise that you won't give up either, okay?" the girl said seriously, looking into his eye once more.

" If you don't give up, neither will I. I promise."

************ Well there's chapter eleven. Excessive fluff but I _did _warn you so no whining 'kay? Just kidding whine if you want to just don't be too hard on me, it's my first fluff scene. ^-^ anyways hope you liked it and see you all next chapter.

                                    Later,

                          ~Tenshi Kitsune~        ************************

   __


	12. Shining Stars

A/N: Well it's chapter 12 already and I'm so happy that people actually like my ficcys! I try hard to put out good stories and I love it when people tell me what they think because the more feedback I get the better I can write and that's what I wanna do for a living so this's important to me… but enough rambling on about nothing and onto the chapter. I warn you guys now more fluffiness but not as bad as last chapter. I don't own Fushigi Yuugi but I do own Kyari. Here's the chapter….

It was two days later and Kyari was at the front of the ship quietly looking out over the water. She smiled as she watched a pair of dolphins jump out of the water and disappear just as quickly. She pulled herself up onto the rail, needing to feel her feet dangling below her as the wind softly caressed her hair. A slow blush made its way across her cheeks as she remembered Chichiri doing the same thing the day before as they sat together watching the sunset. _His hands are just as soft as this wind… _she thought, closing her eyes in memory. She loosened her grip on the rail slightly as she lost herself in her thoughts. 

Suddenly, the ship hit a series of choppy waves and the girl gasped as she felt herself sliding forwards.

"Chichiri!" she yelled as she slid off the rail completely. 

She managed to grab the rail with one hand and hold onto it as she fell. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as tears sprang to her eyes. She looked down into the deep ocean below her and shut her eyes firmly to block the view of a thirty-foot drop. "Chichiri!" she cried again, this time her voice smaller, like a frightened child's. 

She felt a pair of hands seize her wrist and pull her upwards. Kyari reached upwards with her free hand, blindly trying to find her rescuer's hand to give him a better grip on her. Whoever it was took her hand and pulled her back onto the ship, gently letting her down onto the deck as the girl fell to her knees. Finally opening her eyes, she sat there trying to get her nerves back under control for a minute. Her rescuer put a hand under her chin and lifted her face to his. To Kyari's complete surprise, it wasn't Chichiri but Tasuki who had pulled her up.

"You okay, kid?" the bandit asked in concern.

The peacekeeper opened her mouth to say 'yes' but instead she only managed a small squeak. She looked at him her eyes wide and frightened as tears found their way down her cheeks.

"Aww... C'mon! Don't cry kid! Please?" Tasuki pleaded.

Abandoning her shyness, she threw her arms around Tasuki's neck and sobbed into his shirt, trembling and sobbing in a strange mix of relief and fear. The bandit's eyes widened and her put his arms around her, awkwardly patting her head. "I-it's okay." he told her "You're safe now."

*****

Meanwhile, Chichiri stood a little ways off watching this. He turned away sharply, not wanting to do anything he might regret and feeling like he'd just lost his best friend all over again.

*****

Kyari's sobs gradually lessened and finally stopped and she let go of Tasuki.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered, wiping tears off her face "It's just that…just that scared the hell outta me! I thought I was gonna fall and then the ship's pull would have dragged me under and…and I never got a chance to tell him and then…" she whimpered again and passed her tunic sleeve over her eyes.

"Shh.... it's alright. I understand." the flame haired seishi told her "Want me to help you find Chiri'?" he offered "He should be the one you hug like that after all, seeing' as you two …well y'know." He gave the girl a playful grin, showing off his fangs.

She laughed a little. "Sure." she replied, returning his smile.

The bandit got to his feet and held out a hand to Kyari. The girl took it and he pulled her up. The two set off to find Chichiri, chatting lightly.

*****

Chichiri walked back to his room, feeling miserable. How could he have been so stupid? Why would anyone love him? After everything he'd done… the way his scar slashed horribly across his eye and made him look like some kind of monster… the very idea was laughable!He went into his room and flopped down on the bed, taking off his mask so he could let his tears fall freely. 

*****

Kyari and Tasuki made their way down the hall just as the door to Chichiri's room closed. 

"His door just closed." Tasuki observed, "He must be in there. See you later?"

"Yup. Later." Kyari said over her shoulder. "Oh yeah, thanks!" she added, turning around and walking backwards.

Tasuki shook his head in amusement and went back up to the main deck.

The peacekeeper tapped lightly on the door and Chichiri slowly pulled it opened. His eye was red and there were tears shining on his face. He hurriedly dashed them away when he saw it was Kyari and forced a smile. 

"Hi. What's wrong? You look like you were crying. " Kyari asked worriedly "Are you okay?"

The monk nodded, his smile fading. "I'm okay." he lied "Just tired, I guess."

The girl looked into his eye. "That's a lie and you know it." she said directly " You can tell me. I won't laugh at you or anything, y'know. Or, at least I _hope_ you know. I mean after everything we went through together…"

"I know. I just don't want to trouble you…" he said quietly.

Kyari gave him a look. "You will never, ever be a bother to me." she told him seriously "Now spit it out already!"

"I lost something very precious to me." he whispered, dropping his eyes to look at the floor.

"What did you lose?" the girl asked "I'm sure we can find it if we both look."

The monk shook his head sadly. "I'll never get it back." he said flatly, tears starting to fall from his eye again. "It's gone forever."

"Isn't there something you could do? Anything?" Kyari asked desperately "I hate seeing you hurt so much…"

She tried to look the mage in the eye, but he refused to meet her gaze. A tear of frustration fell down her face and she did the only thing she could think of: she pulled Chichiri into a hug and rubbed his back soothingly. "It's alright." she told him gently "It'll all be right again soon… please don't cry."

The peacekeeper tightened her hold on the monk as a tear fell from his cheek onto hers. "I love you too much to see you in so much pain…please." she begged softly "Please?"

Chichiri pushed himself away from Kyari, holding her shoulders so he could look her in the eyes. "W-what did you say?" he asked shakily "What did you say just now?"

"I said I love you and I don't want to see you cry because I can't stand to see you suffer." she repeated in confusion, brushing away a tear. "W-why? What's going on? I don't understand…"

The magician's face brightened and he felt his heart skip a beat as hope shone from his eye. "Do you mean that?" he asked anxiously.

"With all my heart." the girl said earnestly "What made you think I didn't love you?" she asked totally bewildered.

Chichiri blushed and gave her a sheepish look. "Well… when you called out to me before I arrived in time to see Tasuki pull you back up. I was about to come and see if you were alright, when he knelt down next to you and then you hugged him so tightly… and he hugged you back I thought that…I- I thought I'd lost you." he finished heavily. 

Kyari smiled and gave a small laugh as more tears fell down her face. "Baka." she said affectionately "You'll never lose me! You're my sweet, sensitive, beautiful little monk. I could never do that to you! Besides," she added, mischief dancing in her eyes "Fang-boy's got nothing on you! You're twice as cute and three times sweeter. Plus, you can do magic. How many guys do you meet that can do that and still be as amazing as you? Not many I can tell ya!" she reached up and kissed him lightly on each cheek, then soundly on the lips. "And I betcha' he doesn't taste of mint leaves either." she whispered in his ear, as she lowered herself back to the floor.

The monk blushed furiously and looked down at her fondly. "I'm sorry I doubted you, no da. Forgive me?" he asked putting on a lost-puppy face.

"Always." she said, giving him her best smile and taking his hand. "C'mon. If we hurry we can catch the sunset from beginning to end." she said invitingly.

"Sure, na no da." he accepted "I have something I want to show you anyways, no da."

"What is it?" Kyari asked as they made their way to the back of the ship.

"You'll see, no da." the mage said mysteriously.

The sunset turned out spectacularly, sending waves of red, gold, and pink dancing over the water and turning it multicolored, making the waves sparkle and shimmer as they rolled across the ocean.

Kyari sighed, nuzzling closer to Chichiri and putting her head on his shoulder. "I don't know about you Chiri', but I don't think I've ever been happier than I am right now." she told him, linking her arm through his.

"I'll bet I can make you happier, no da." Chichiri challenged playfully.

"How?" the girl asked curiously, lifting her head off the monk's shoulder.

"Watch." the monk instructed, unlinking his arm from the peacekeeper's. He started tracing some kind of strange pattern in the air in front of them. When he'd finished whatever it was he'd been drawing, he picked up Kyari's hand and kissed it lovingly. He kissed his own hand then blew a kiss out towards the ocean where he'd just traced the symbols in the air. At first nothing seemed to happen, then suddenly words started to appear, written in tiny stars of purple and blue, lighting up the gathering darkness.

Kyari gasped and put her hands up to her mouth. "It's beautiful …" she breathed in awe.

"Can you read what it says?" asked Chichiri.

"I think so…Wo…Ai... N-" she stopped mid-sentence and gave Chichiri an unbelieving look "It says I love you in Chinese, right?"

He nodded. "Like it?" he asked, hopefully.

"More than anything!" she cried throwing her arms around the young man. She paused a second. "Well, not more than you, but more than anything else." she corrected herself, getting as close to him as she could. The peacekeeper put her head down on his chest and smiled sleepily as the sun found its way to bed and the last of the stars danced in front of her. _This was definitely a good day _she thought as her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

******************** So that was chapter 12 for you! It was fluffy and strange but I promise real action soon. Now for the glossary of funny words I used:

Wo Ai Ni means I love you in Chinese

Baka means stupid or foolish in Japanese.

So that's it then. See you next chapter! 

~Tenshi Kitsune~*******************************__


	13. The Calm Before The Storm

A/N: well here it is folks, ch13 at long last! Sorry it took so long nearly ran out of ideas for this chapter then I came up with this… it might not be the best but hey, I tried. Also I have little to no knowledge of Chichiri's gaiden novel so some stuff is going to be non-canon with it. Please be patient with me. Anyways as usual I don't own Fushigi Yuugi but I do own Kyari. And on to the chappy…

The morning sun shone down on the ocean as the ship carrying six Suzaku Seishi, their miko and peacekeeper sailed serenely towards Genbu. A lone figure sat at the back of the ship quietly contemplating the water and letting his thoughts wander. His light blue hair fluttered in the soft ocean breeze, playing gently over his face. He smiled softly as his thoughts drifted to a certain girl he'd fallen for. How could one girl mean so much to him in such a short amount of time? he wondered. His face turned pensive. Was it because every time she looked at him her eyes were full of love and acceptance? Or maybe because she never asked him to change, taking him for who he was scars and all…Able to see past all of that and love him unconditionally… 

He sighed.  "Maybe because, in many ways, she's just like me…" he mumbled softly, propping his elbow on his knee and cupping his cheek in his hand. "Or maybe it's because I love her." He laughed ruefully as he remembered the days when he thought he'd never love again. Those had been dark days, full of sadness and bitter anger at his rash actions. Not until he met up with the monks of Suzaku, who had taken him in and given him a new reason to want to go on with his life, had he even thought of going back out into the world. Then everything changed. He had been taken to Mount Taikyoku and studied with Taiitsukun; there he had met up with his star brothers and they took him into a world of friendship and love. Finally he belonged somewhere. He had friends and they didn't care what he'd done or what he looked like under the mask. They had become his brothers and just as he would do anything for them, they would do anything for him. He smiled as a warm, happy feeling filled his heart. He had found his place and now, there was a new addition to the Suzaku family. Someone as lost and frightened as he had once been. 

_Maybe that's why I care so deeply for her. _he thought _I care because she needs me as much as I need her._

He sat there in silent contemplation, letting his mind drift and didn't notice as the girl he had been thinking of came and sat next to him.

"Whatcha thinking of?" she said softly.

The mage shook his head to clear it. "What? Oh. Nothing important no da." he replied, grateful for the mask that hid his bright red cheeks. "What brings you out so early, no da?"

"I was forced. My stomach doesn't like the ocean any more." she grimaced, moving nearer to him.

"Aww…Poor Kyari, no da." Chichiri said sympathetically. He put his arm around her shoulders, leaning back with his other hand for balance, and pulled her closer. 

She sighed and put her head on his shoulder, reaching up and taking his hand in both of hers.  "Yup. Poor me." she said lightly. She paused for a second then added, "At least I'm not Tasuki. I was kind of at the same rail as him before…" she explained " You should have seen his face! He was a lovely shade of mint green and every time his head came back up, you could hear him cursing from here to Puerto Rico!" 

"Puerto Rico, no da?" the monk asked in confusion.

Kyari laughed and hugged Chichiri. "It's a place in my world. It's far from where I come from so I thought it made a nice comparison."

Chichiri nodded. "Is it nice in your world, no da?" he asked curiously.

"Well, that depends where you go. If you go to say, Hawaii, -that's an island with lots of trees and valleys and cool animals. - Then yeah, it's amazingly beautiful and serene. Then you have your big cities, like Montreal, that's where I live. Those are humongous jungles of stone and metal. There's maybe twenty-five trees in the whole city, there's smoke everywhere and if you want to keep your life you have to be careful what time you cross the street." Kyari told him.

"It sounds a bit like here." Chichiri noted, "If you come to Konan there's a lot of trees and small towns to visit, but go to Kutou and you'll find less greenery and more destruction."

Kyari smiled a little. "I guess no matter what world you live in, it's all the same. Some parts are nice, others not so nice, but it all fits together like pieces in a puzzle."

"Yup, a giant puzzle, that's right, no da." Chichiri laughed. "It's funny, but I never thought of it like that before."

"Well, now you have." Kyari said quietly. The soft sway of the boat combined with Chichiri's closeness had brought a sense of peace over her and she sighed. "Want to know something else?" she said, her voice soft and almost sleepy "I think everyone should have someone like you to take care of them when they're sick."

Chichiri smiled and gave her a kiss on top of her head. "Glad I could help, no da."

The pair stayed like that for a long time just watching the sun playing over the surface of the water and enjoying being with each other.

***********A/N: well there's ch13 for you. It's kinda short and stupid but hey, it got rid of my writer's block and next chapter'll be better. I swear! Anyways, yes no weird words and see you next chapter.

     ~Tenshi Kitsune~ **********


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